The film depicts the cruelty of ivory poaching and the tragic consumption cycle of ivory Hanko, through a mixed media made of live-action showing how Hanko is used in everyday life in Japan, and an animation created entirely using Hankos. At the end of the film, it reveals that the animation was created using 500 wooden Hankos, which underscores the urgency of choosing sustainable materials for their own Hanko, instead of opting for ivory at the cost of elephants’ lives.

Hanko is often used for official signatures in Japan. Due to the importance of it, many of people would opt for ivory Hanko, which is believed to be the finest material. However, most Japanese are unaware of the tragic truth behind it.

Japanese value tradition and culture, but they also tend to turn a blind eye to bad customs. When come to social issues, people tend to avoid addressing the elephant in the room. However, it is also the case in Japan that a courageous statement or a new message from someone can trigger a major shift in public opinion. Ivory Hanko carries that potential.

The elephant has long been a popular animal among Japanese. They appear in picture books, zoos and even used as logos for companies and products. It is a shocking truth for Japanese when they realize the connection between ivory Hanko and elephant poaching.

The film is presented through mixed media, with two sides to it. The surface, in live-action; the truth beneath, in animation. The animation was made using 500 wooden Hankos, pressed onto 2400 sheets of paper and shot sheet-by-sheet. The challenge of it is to create illustrations on the small area of Hanko (21mm in diameter), and to convey a clear story combining these illustrations. The circle of Hanko here represents the scope of a gun. The various logographic typography that depict “elephant”, the paper texture, the color selection. All details are finely crafted, including the last scene that reveals the 500 wooden Hankos used.

Your imagination is magnified through the sound design, with actual sound effects from African savanna. (Wildlife roaring, gunshots, the fall of an elephant, tusk cutting, blood splashing, carrying ivories, truck engine, ships whistling, ivory cutting and carving). The ethnic sounds of Africa, Asia and Japan.